<p>Thank you for that feedback, @impressionistic – good to know!</p>
<p>Never posted, but just can’t help it. My student is a sophomore engineering major. Last year was tough. Of course a she was great student in high school, but had a reality check at Vandy freshman year. Passed everything but not a great gpa. Now, sophomore year seems even tougher. Student has always said that at Vandy science classes are curved to a B/B- and math classes are curved to a C/C-. Exactly the grades she got freshman year, and now the same grades sophomore year. Engineering classes seem even harder, excepting the intro to engineering modules. LAC classes much easier as students can pick and choose. She appears to be working hard, studying, tutoring, etc. It seems like the deck is stacked against the students with the Vandy policies. Are we missing something? Is it like this for everyone? What does the school have to gain from so much grade deflation? My student didn’t go from one of the top in the country to barely making it. I know there are a lot of smart kids out there, but from a 4.0 to at 2.7? Starting to second guess our college choice. :(</p>
<p>My son is a Junior engineering major and this is his first semester at Vandy. He is doing 3+2 programs (Tulane Physics and Vandy Mechanical Engineering). His GPA at Tulane was 3.75 and today he told me that his grades at Vandy are all As (five classes and two labs) and only one B+. So, his Vandy cumulative GPA is similar to his previous school. And he told me also that he did not feel or see any of the grade deflations at all. Therefore, I personally believe (I may be wrong though) that if you study hard and have a good time management, you will succeed in any schools that you go to. Nothing is impossible and be blessed.</p>
<p>I should add that sophomore year, particularly the first half, can also be tough for those in STEM majors. You gotta knock out all of those harshly graded math and science courses. It is important to understand that more than half of the class is getting A’s and B’s in most of these courses-- it’s painful to fall on the lower half of the curve but it happened to many of us (half of us, to be precise).</p>
<p>Once you get into your major, the grades come much easier in my opinion. l did pretty poorly in the big courses – Ochem, PChem, Calc. I have 10 A’s and a B in my engineering coursework. The classes are challenging but the grading is much more lenient.</p>
<p>Pancaked, At what point do engineering students retake classes? C, C-, D? Is it worth it to retake the those harder classes, or better just to have the lower GPA?</p>
<p>I would strongly consider retaking a D/D-. A C/C- might be worth retaking as well. There are many more factors than just the final grade. The student has to be confident they can score significantly better the second time around, and of course, retaking the class must fit in with their degree plan and class schedule. Retaking a C to get a B is not much of an improvement and honestly not worth the student’s time. Retaking a D- to get a B is a HUGE improvement, and in my experience, a B is not difficult to come by your second time around.</p>
<p>I retook two courses I received D’s in. The were both my first semester and I knew I could do better, and was just suffering from that first-year shock syndrome. Later in my coursework I got a C that I just accepted; I was just a hard class and I did not have the willingness to suffer through it again to perhaps improve to just a B/B+.</p>
<p>It also depends on how the course plays in to your degree and career plans. If you plan to be a chemist or chemical engineer and get a C- in chemistry or calculus, well, that’s going to raise some big red flags for employers. If your C- is in quantum mechanics, nobody is going to care.</p>
<p>Finally you also just need to consider the ultimate importance of GPA. Unless you have graduate school aspirations, GPA is going to be a small factor in landing your first job and meaningless after that. Most of us seniors are landing jobs through networking and past internships anyway where they barely even care about our transcripts.</p>
<p>So I have to ask – Is my student the only one sleeping 11 - 12 hours a night? I thought that after a week at home, he would return to a more normal routine.</p>
<p>@Go9ersjrh - Hahaha… My son is sleeping 11-12 hours a day! He’s up all night and then sleeps all day. I don’t know when they go back to what we consider a normal routine but I’m looking forward to it. I guess when he comes home for the summer he’ll be forced back to reality by work. Anyway, I wish you and all the parents Happy Holidays and a Merry Christmas!</p>
<p>Same here! My daughter stays up 'til all hours and stays in bed until around 2:00 … unless she has made plans with someone to do something. At least she’ll be rested when she goes back to Vandy for the 2nd semester!</p>
<p>My S doesn’t really sleep 11 or 12 hours but he does stay up until 3 or 4 in the morning every night. It kind of drives me crazy. Well, it’s good to know this is “normal” Vandy student behavior.</p>
<p>Happy Holidays to you all!</p>
<p>My girls stay up late, and I stay up later than usual! I’m exhausted! They’ve been very helpful and lots of fun. We are still in our PJ’s and enjoying a very relaxed Christmas!</p>
Hello. I thought there was a new second semester parents post. Can anyone direct me to it? I have questions about Maymester and McGill House. Thanks.
Please disregard. I found it.